The present invention relates generally to data storage systems and more particularly relates to tape drive emulation (TDE) systems.
Many data processing systems utilize tape drives for storage of data. Channel interfaces and commands generated by a data source to control the transfer of data from a host computer to a tape drive are well-known in the art and will not be described in detail here. One example of an operating system for managing data transfer between a host computer and a tape drive is the MVS system manufacture by IBM Corporation.
In a tape drive emulation system, the data output by the host is not actually written to a tape drive and data input by host is not actually read from a tape drive. Instead, in one type of TDE system, the data is input from and output to staging disks.